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"The recent financial crisis taught us an enduring lesson about the importance of financial education"

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Charles Schwab Foundation will award $1,000 college scholarships to 20 students in recognition of their achievement on the 2010 National Financial Capability Challenge, a national award program administered by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Additionally, the Foundation will award a $1,000 grant to each of the winning students’ schools in recognition of the contributing role played by the students’ teachers. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Education have also awarded certificates of recognition to students scoring in the top 20 percent of the 76,000 total students who took the Challenge in the spring.

“We are really pleased to be funding these scholarship awards again,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of Charles Schwab Foundation. “We feel very strongly about the power of financial education in changing lives, and the Challenge is a way to recognize teachers and students for their achievement in teaching and learning the fundamentals of personal finance.”

“The recent financial crisis taught us an enduring lesson about the importance of financial education,”said Michael Barr, assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions. “The Obama Administration is committed to working with our nation’s educators to provide students with the knowledge and tools they need to make smart financial decisions. On behalf of the Treasury Department, I’d like to congratulate these scholarship recipients, as well as all of the students and teachers who participated in the National Financial Capability Challenge, for taking a positive step forward in empowering their financial futures.”

Students were eligible for this scholarship if they scored in the top twenty percent nationally on the National Financial Capability Challenge and reside in one of the states with the top ten highest participation rates in the Challenge. Twenty winners were selected by lottery from among this pool of eligible students – two from each of the ten states with the highest rates of participation in the National Financial Capability Challenge. Half of the selected students attend schools with at least 50% eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch.

About Charles Schwab Foundation

Charles Schwab Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization funded by The Charles Schwab Corporation. Its mission is to create positive change through financial education, philanthropy and volunteerism. More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com/community.

About the National Financial Capability Challenge

The National Financial Capability Challenge is an awards program designed to increase the financial knowledge and capability of high school aged youth across the United States so they can take control over their financial futures. It challenges high school teachers and other educators to teach the basics of personal finance to their students, and rewards students, educators, schools, and states for their participation and their success on an online Challenge Exam. For more information visit: www.challenge.treas.gov/. (0710-4519)